Harry Potter and the 7 Horcruxes
by unolimbo
Summary: after 6th book Harry is going on a mission. He must find the remaining horcruxes, destroy them, and then defeat Voldemort. Can he do it? What will he encounter along the way?
1. Chapter 1

On a bright June afternoon, with the sun setting low on the horizon, turning the trees black and the clouds pink, a train sped diligently along a strangely winding path. The train was equally silent and full of noise at the same time. Small compartments filled with small children who twittered and worried, others filled with teenagers who gossiped and prophesized. But the silence came from one single compartment – it was full, with six teenagers in it, but it was silent.

Two of these teenagers held their hands together, one a girl with a face swollen and red from crying, the other a tall redheaded boy, looking like he was soon to cry. There were two others, a plump boy who looked like he wished to speak if not for the long silence that held him, the other, a spacey girl with odd jewellery, who looked content to simply sit and gaze out the window. The last two, another boy and another girl, seemed determined not to look at each other.

The boy looked up and watched the others, then looked away. He couldn't bear to make eye contact with any of them.

He uncrossed his arms and crossed them again. Finally, he rose and left the compartment. Everyone watched him go, but no one said a word. The compartment door closed with an audible click.

The hallway was empty. Harry Potter stood alone, looking out the window. The sun had set now. They were almost in London. Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen to him when he go there. Would there be Aurors there to meet him? Or would there be no one there, with Harry left to find his way to Privet Drive by himself? He wished with all his heart that it could be the latter, but he knew it wasn't. Someone would be waiting for him there at King's Cross, Platform 9 and ¾, whether it was Tonks or Moody or someone Harry didn't know at all. Either way, they were going to talk to him, and he knew he couldn't talk back to them. He wasn't in a talking mood.

He had stopped talking when Hogwarts had faded from his sight. He thought it likely that he would never see it again, and his parting view had not been particularly comforting. The Dark Mark that had hovered above the tower was long gone now, but it was still present in Harry's mind. The castle was dark and quiet. It had been declared that it would be open the next year for anyone who wished to return to its walls to complete their education, but Harry knew that he would not return to it, and this was the last he was ever to see of Hogwarts.

Slowly, he turned around, slid back into the compartment, and smiled at Ginny Weasley, the girl he had broken up with not two days before.

Sure enough, when the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 and ¾ only fifteen minutes later, there was a myriad of people Harry knew. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were waiting for their two youngest children, having only departed from Hogwarts the day before to accompany their eldest son, Bill, to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and Mr. and Mrs. Granger, two Muggle dentists and the parents of Hermione, were standing with them, looking equally nervous, aware of the danger to them in this wizarding place. Standing away from them were Tonks and an Auror who Harry had seen, but did not know the name of.

As the adults rushed them all off the platform and through the station, Harry found himself walking beside Ginny. Hermione and Ron were directly in front of them, and behind them was the Auror whom Harry didn't know. As they reached the outside, Harry knew they were parting.

He was going back to his aunt and uncle's, just like he had promised Dumbledore he would do. Then, he was leaving. He was going to visit Godric's Hollow, as he had said he would do, and then he was going to look for the horcruxes. He knew there were six of them, one destroyed, buried on Dumbledore's hand… he tried not to think about it. There was another, the locket that had belonged to Salazar Slytherin, the locket that Dumbledore had died for, that had been taken by someone named R.A.B. Harry wasn't sure if it had actually been destroyed or not. He would have to find it to know for sure. There was also the journal, which Harry himself had destroyed in his second year. That left Hufflepuff's cups, and something belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. Dumbledore had told Harry that there was no way Voldemort had anything of Gryffindor's, as the only artefact was the sword that was certainly not a horcrux, so that meant there was one more horcrux, somewhere out in the world for Harry to find. And then, of course, there was the very last horcrux – the one that was not a horcrux at all, the one that was the original soul the horcruxes had been torn from – Voldemort himself.

Hermione threw herself at Harry, hugging him tightly. "Be careful," she said. "Send Hedwig as soon as you plan to leave. I'll be at Ron's by Saturday, and we'll both be waiting for you."

Ron nodded in agreement. "See you soon, mate." He said.

Knowing that Harry would just stand there, dumbstruck, if left to his own devices, Mrs. Weasley interrupted before Harry and Ginny had time to say goodbye. "Get that cloak on, Harry," she said, scooping him into a tight hug. "Be careful. Arthur will call you to make sure everything is alright with you."

"That's alright, Mrs. Weasley–" Harry was cut off again, though he knew that Mr. Weasley would not be a welcome caller to 4 Privet Drive. The last few visits had been fairly unsuccessful.

"Don't worry, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder, "like Molly said, half our family owes you their lives. I'll check on you whenever I can, don't you worry."

Whether Mr. Weasley would be welcomed at the Dursley's or not, Harry hoped that he wouldn't even be there when Mr. Weasley got there. He hoped to be out on his own the day after next.

Harry did indeed leave the morning after next. He was now allowed to do magic over summer break (not that it was really a break for Harry – he wouldn't be going back to Hogwarts anyway) and he quickly found a good opportunity to blast the bars off his window, unlock Hedwig's cage, and fly away on his broom. He didn't pack a trunk, but filled his rucksack with clean underwear, socks, a spellbook or two, a sleeping bag he had found in the attic that he knew would never be used by Dudley, and a warm sweater. He didn't need much. His sneakoscope was sitting against his back so that if there was danger he would feel it spinning, his wand was in his front pocket, and Hedwig was off with a letter addressed to Ron and Hermione, apologizing for not waiting for them, telling them he would be at the Burrow in a week, and could they please pick up the rest of his things from the Dursleys?

He didn't bother saying goodbye to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon. He knew they were glad to be rid of him anyway, and it was still before daybreak, no later than 4 o'clock in the morning, and the house was asleep.

Harry was going to visit his parents. He was going to learn as much about them and their legacy as he could, and then he was going back to Ron and Hermione, and they were going to go and find the four remaining horcruxes.

Godric's Hollow was not as he had imagined it. He had always seen, deep in his mind, a small house, in front of a large tree, reduced to rubble on the ground, left to collect even more dust and history. But it wasn't. When he arrived there late that night, the house he had lived the first year of his life in – he knew this was the house; it was too old to be the replacement – stood serenely, a small car parked out front, the lights out, the house quiet. Harry longed to go in, but he knew it was impossible. He would have done it in an instant, disguised by his invisibility cloak and silenced by the mufflatio spell, if it hadn't been for one problem: there were two people sitting directly in front of the house, scanning the skies, looking for him.

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I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my newest Harry Potter fiction.

I don't own anything, yada yada yada. You know the drill.

Basically, this is my story for what I think it most likely to happen. The details will be my own ideas, but the general ideas (such as the ending, or what not) are basically what I'm expecting to happen in the last book. Read it if you want, or don't. If you don't like it, tell me why! I'd like to hear your input.

"Cornered by zombies, all I can think to do is confess. It was me who told dad you were gay."

Thanks,

Unolimbo


	2. Chapter 2

Harry flew down to the ground, unafraid. He threw off his cloak. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Hermione looked as if she were about to slap him. "You're coming with us, Harry," she hissed, "it's dangerous out here, and we need to talk. Right now."

Harry didn't argue as Hermione gripped his arm and took him along for the ride. A few seconds later he was in the Burrow.

"Hey!" He said. He hadn't expected her to do that. He had thought she was going to take him to a bush or a shadowy area; not all the way back to the Burrow.

Ron shook his head, apparating beside Harry. Harry fumed at them both, angry that they had the power to do this while Harry could still only fly – at least for another few weeks. "Come on, Harry, you're being ridiculous. Flying out on your own? You're smarter than that."

Harry glared at his supposed best friend. "I don't see why you being there would make a lick of difference," he spat. "I can take care of myself. No one would have seen me."

"You think an invisibility cloak will hide you from You-Know-Who?" Hermione cried. "Harry! Ron and I can help you! We can both apparate, for one. Ron passed his exam yesterday. He can't do side-along just yet, but he's almost there. That's something."

"You took your exam without me?" Harry demanded, realizing for the first time that Ron had apparated under his own power.

Ron nodded. "We knew you were going to do something like this, I needed to be able to get out there to help you."

"What do you mean, something like this?" Harry demanded again.

Hermione just shook her head. "Harry, please trust us. It's not safe for anyone to be out alone, least of all you. We know your letter said you would come back here, but how were we supposed to know you would? And if you didn't, how were we supposed to know that it was under your own power that you didn't arrive? And you know perfectly well that Dumbledore meant for you to stay at the Dursley's until your birthday."

As Hermione had said, Harry knew perfectly well they were right. He knew that he shouldn't have been out alone, that he shouldn't have thought an invisibility cloak would be enough, and he shouldn't have thought his friends would just sit idly by and wait.

After calming down and apologizing to Ron and Hermione, he was allowed to go to sleep. He had been flying all day, and he was tired. He knew that was another reason that it was good to have Ron and Hermione; he would never sleep or eat if he were on his own.

Hermione and Ginny were in one room, Ron and Harry in another, and Fleur in the third. Bill was in St. Mungo's, and Fleur had been with him almost all day, telling him about wedding plans and herself and his family. Bill was to be released at the end of the week, when he and Fleur would be married. Harry _had _planned on coming back for Ron and Hermione, because he knew Mrs. Weasley would never speak to him again if he missed her eldest son's wedding. But for now, Harry fell asleep to the sound of Mr. Weasley arriving home from a long day at the Ministry.

The next morning, Ron, Hermione, and Tonks accompanied Harry back to Godric's Hollow. They gave him space when he was there, mostly because they were never quite sure where he was when he was wearing his cloak.

He got a chance to see his parents graves. They were in a small graveyard by a church at the end of the street. There was no mention of how they had died or what they had done with their lives. Harry sat down in front of them. These were his parents. Their flesh and blood. At least, what was left of their flesh and blood. Probably only bones and dust. Harry didn't want to think about it.

"I miss you," he said quietly. "I didn't even know you, and I miss you."

He stood up. That was it. He didn't know what else there was to do. "I'm ready to go now," he said.

Hermione took his hand. "Let's go, then." She said.

"You all done, then?" Ron asked. Harry nodded. They disapparated. Harry didn't even know if he'd ever come back.

The Burrow was bustling. Even with Bill in the hospital, plans for the wedding were occupying everyone's time. Ron was forced into helping and Hermione offered, but Harry mostly watched. He had other things on his mind.

Harry did a lot of research that summer. He bullied Tonks more than once into going to the library in Diagon Alley to pick up books for him. He was strictly forbidden from going there any more. He spent as much time in his room as he could. He loved being at the Burrow and he loved the Weasleys, but it was not comfortable between him and Ginny. He hoped that when he was done with Voldemort – if he survived – she would have forgiven him.

As far as he could tell, there was no evidence as to what the sixth horcrux could be. Harry truly had no idea. He hoped that maybe there was another Gryffindor artefact that Dumbledore didn't know about – something he'd missed. But it seemed there was no hope.

Harry didn't know how he was going to find all of the horcruxes. He didn't have the information Dumbledore had, or the sources, or the skills. He was just a kid with a goal. He didn't even know where to start.

There were three days until the day that Bill came home. It was a full moon that night. He was placed in solitary confinement and studied. The effect that the full moon would have on him was still not known, because he had been bitten by a werewolf in his human form.

The effect, it seemed, was that he turned into an odd hybrid of man and wolf – even odder than a werewolf. But he had control over himself and his actions, which werewolves did not, and was thus not considered a great threat. He was told to return to St. Mungoes for the next few full moons, just to make sure that nothing went wrong.

The wedding went off without a hitch, even if the groom's face could barely be seen through bandage. It was just a small group of people, members of the Order, Fleur's immediate family, and few others. Large gatherings were not recommended in such dangerous times.

The wedding passed without incidence. Afterwards, as demure celebration went on downstairs, Harry lay on his bed in his and Ron's room, thinking. He didn't even notice when there was a knock on the door.

"Harry?"

He looked up. Ginny was standing at the doorway. "Hey, Gin."

"You're leaving soon, aren't you."

Harry sat up. "Yes." He didn't know what else to say.

Neither of them spoke for a long time, and Harry was afraid that Ginny was waiting for him to say something. Finally, she came and sat down on Ron's bed, across from Harry. "I think this will be good for you," she said. "Not, you know, the whole ultimate battle thing," Harry smiled weakly. "but the understanding. I mean, there is so much about yourself that you don't know. Maybe this is the only way to figure it out. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Harry looked at her. "Ginny, I'm looking for Voldemort."

She smiled. "No you're not. You're looking for answers. It just so happens that Voldemort holds those answers. I know you, Harry, even if you don't. You're not going on this whole thing because you want the glory or even because you want to help people. It is revenge. You're doing it for yourself. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I think that's really important. Don't forget it. Being selfless is all good and wonderful, but it doesn't work well for initiative. Remember that you have a reason for being there. It's not just because you were destined. It's because you are learning something."

Harry didn't speak. He had never looked at it that way. He wasn't sure if he enjoyed hearing that about himself, but he was pretty sure that Ginny was right. He looked up at her again. "Thanks, Ginny."

She smiled. "No problem. So if you ever forget why you're out there, think of me and keep at it." She leaned forward and hugged Harry. "Good luck. Now I have to go downstairs and socialize before my mother notices I'm gone." She disappeared through the door, leaving Harry and his thoughts alone.

The next morning, Harry would leave, whether his friends came with him or not.

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I'm really happy with my writing in this story. I think it's going very well. Please feel free to tell me otherwise.

FSL: criticize if you don't like it, I am interested to hear what makes it "meh."

Maliaphire: I don't think Dumbledore ever actually said Harry had to stay that long, he just said that Harry had to go for a little while. Harry took that in his own way.

Alice: okay!

FanFictionFantom: I'm glad you like it!

Atlanta Enchanted: why would that make you sad? Would you rather it be people who are out to kill him? Because I could do that too. 

Deb: Probably not. I decided she kinda pisses me off, and I really don't think she's ever going to have anything to do with the story again.

EveningSongEnchantment: thanks!

Please review it, I really want to know what you all think!

"I think one way the cops could make money would be to hold a murder weapons sale. Many people could really use used ice picks."


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